Utley says coming back this season is "definitely a possibility"

Chase Utley insists he’s made progress since he last spoke to the media about three weeks ago, but there’s still no guarantee he’ll take the field this season.

“I think so, as long as we continue to take steps forward and not back, that’s definitely a possibility,” he said. “The whole goal is to get back on the field and in my mind we’re making the right steps to do that.”

Utley has taken some light ground the last few days, but has not started running at all, and he doesn’t know when he will try.

GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said Utley is not a candidate to go on the 60-day disabled list. The second baseman, though, is hoping to be back by the All-Star break.

“That would be a goal yes,” he said.

Utley would not say how many doctors he’s seen or consulted with, but acknowledged the hesitancy of having surgery comes from several doctors telling him it could make his condition worse.

“That’s what a few different doctors have said,” Utley said. “Hey, listen, if surgery were the answer and I could be back on the field in six weeks guaranteed, it’d be a no-brainer. But I don’t think that’s the case. It’s a little unpredictable at this point. So I want to take as many steps as I can at this point to avoid that surgery and see what happens.”

An entire season without his all-star second baseman is not something Amaro is letting himself think about.

“I don't think we've thought that far ahead, honestly,” he said. “We're hopeful he continues to progress, and if he continues to progress we still plan on having him as our second baseman. It's just a matter of when.”

Utley, who is following a regimented stretching program and getting massages, will go north with the team tonight because he wants to be around his teammates and the Phillies trainers.

“We’re just going to let my body dictate how it’s going and make progressions from there,” he said. “At this point, we want to take steps forward and not back.”